New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez, the country's first Hispanic female elected to a state's top post, will be the keynote speaker at the Republican Party of Orange County's annual Flag Day dinner.

Martinez was elected in 2010 and may represent a model for California Republicans hoping to appeal to Latinos, who provided Gov. Jerry Brown with his margin of victory over Meg Whitman last year. California Republicans don't have a single Latino in the state Legislature or in Congress.

While many have opined that the GOP needs to take a softer stance on illegal immigrants to win over California Latinos, Martinez has staunchly opposed drivers licenses and reduced college tuition for illegal immigrants. (I erroneously wrote in the initial version of this item that Martinez supported Arizona's controversial law regarding targeting illegal immigrants, which I based on a Washington Post story reporting that last year. Martinez's office alerted me that while she does oppose drivers licenses and lottery scholarships for illegal immigrants, she opposes the Arizona law. And they forwarded me a San Francisco Chronicle article drawing distinctions between Martinez and Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer.)

Conservative commentator Bill Whittle will also speak at the dinner, which is the county party's largest annual fundraiser.

The GOP dinner takes place Monday, June 13, at the Hyatt Regency Irvine. A VIP reception with Martinez starts at 5:30 p.m. and dinner starts at 7 p.m. Tickets start at $150 per seat and go up to $2,500 for a table for 10 and two passes to the VIP reception with photos.

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